PADUCAH, KY - An 18-year-old student from Lone Oak High School has died after being injured Thursday in a single-vehicle accident on Highland Church Road.

Carson Oakley's vehicle dropped off the right shoulder as she came around a curve and she overcorrected. The car crossed the center line of the road, and as Oakley attempted to get back in her lane, the car ran off the right side of the road and rolled. She was trapped in the car when it came to rest against a fence.

After the she was removed from the car, Oakley was taken to Baptist Health Paducah, and was transferred to Vanderbilt Hosptial Thursday afternoon. McCracken Co. Sheriff Jon Hayden said she passed away about 4:00 am Friday.

Oakley was a senior at Lone Oak High School, and a member of the swim team. Her funeral arrangements have not been made, but family members have said her organs are being donated in hopes of helping someone else in need.

Tragic, but as a Safe driving educator, it's very much a reality. I don't think there is a problem with the photo--wake up folks. Drivers (especially new drivers) need to see that this CAN happen to them. We are not invincible.
My thoughts and prayers go out to her family & friends.

its 35 through highland church. ive got an classic car and ive had trouble on some of the curves while doing the speed limit in wet conditions. due to the age of the car, i am usually doing said speed limit and ALWAYS have someone up my rear end, and have even had people pass me on the straightaway.
my prayers are with all affected

chris b, you're right. the man with the fence, nice fence, has just given up on repainting repaired sections due to frequency of damage. widening would be a GREAT use of all that county money that we voted to keep and who knows, maybe even get the kinks out of the not-so-90-degree turns so that people will be able to keep it off the yellow. its the second most dangerous road in the county, only to lone oak road, and it would take more than miracles to fix that mess...

I guess it's going to take some fatalities for Highland Church Expressway to be widened and straightened to make it a safer road. This will be about the 20th time that fence along that curve has been plowed though.

It has to do with what kind of staff Lourdes has on duty at the time. They might not have had the Specialist that was needed for her condition. I'm not 100 % sure but Mercy was owned by both Paducah Hospitals. They can't play favorites.

Many prayers to the family. I’m curious why they would practically bypass Lourdes hospital to go to Baptist when obviously time was precious. Is Lourdes that bad? I have seen Mercy ambulances literally drive past Lourdes on LO Road and go to Baptist. Just curious.